MORNING BUZZ: My Jamaican Vacation’s Gonna END Right Here

MORNING BUZZ: My Jamaican Vacation’s Gonna END Right Here

Good Morning!

I can’t honestly say I prefer the temperature here in Iowa over Jamaica but it’s good to be home.

Our vacation almost didn’t get off the ground (literally) last Wednesday morning. The persistent snow kept us on the ground for two extra hours here in Des Moines. We landed about 12 minutes before our flight to Jamaica was supposed to leave and did a sprint through the Charlotte Airport to make it. Huge kudos to US Airways for how they handled the situation. They updated us on the plane and apologized for a situation they couldn’t control. Beyond that, as soon as we were on the ground in Charlotte, they radioed over to our next flight to say we were coming. The ground staff at our next gate took the initiative to go get our bags and made sure they arrived in Jamaica with us.

Highlight of the flight to Jamaica: I’ve never flown over Cuba…that was interesting to see.

Arrival to the country and our drive to the resort was very easy. I put my phone in the room safe and never turned it on while we were away. It wasn’t as weird as I thought it would be and it felt good to unplug.

Once at the resort, we found a spot and really didn’t move much for the next few days. I got through three books including a James Dodson book I’ve been giving as a gift for a while. It’s called A Son of the Game. It’s a MUST read for anyone whose love of golf was shaped and encouraged by his Father and anyone who has developed lasting friendships through golf. I’m also a Nelson DeMille fan. I hadn’t read one of his older books called Charm School. It didn’t disappoint. I’m only partially through a third book called Golf in the Kingdom. It’s pretty heavy stuff for me…but I am trying to open my mind a bit to see the game of golf as a larger spiritual experience. If that seems a little out there… you now understand why I am having trouble with it. I think so too.

This is where we planted ourselves. It’s the edge of the pool deck and the start of the beach. Both were spectacular. There was enough breeze to keep the heat tolerable. Unfortunately that was only an issue on one day. The other two we had a lot of clouds and even a little rain. Still…sitting in a deck chair on a cloudy day in Jamaica beats a cloudy day in Des Moines in February.

We were at an all-inclusive but the food was still great! I ate Goat! It was great. The guy who drove us from the airport said they save Goat as a dish for special occasions like Christmas.

I also discovered Jerk spice. I know..I know… it’s not that adventurous but I always thought it would be too spicy for me. Not so. We brought some of that back along with the Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee. I looked froward to breakfast and a great cup of coffee every morning. the coffee may have been why Jeriann was so amped up this morning.

We ventured back to Des Moines through Houston. It was interesting flying over the gulf and seeing all of the oil platforms and tankers taking away the oil. I even spotted an oil slick. Not sure if it was leftovers from the BP spill or what but it was a pretty big line of oil. The Pilots did a great job getting us from Houston to Des Moines on Sunday night. I much prefer flying when they don’t have to keep checking the wings for ice buildup but you don’t always have a choice.

So back to the grindstone. I’m not quite sure why I did it but I scheduled a physical for today. It’s been a couple of years so I’m due.